Muscat: Oman witnessed heavy voting in the early hours of elections on Saturday, with women voters outnumbering men almost three to one.
Omanis will be electing 84 representatives to the Majlis Al Shura Council (Advisory Council) for a four-year term.
The Omani Interior Ministry said 388,683 people were registered to vote, with 632 candidates standing in 61 electoral areas, including 21 women.
"We have been witnessing a steady flow of voters that increased significantly after 9am," Khalfan Bin Mohammed Al Ghaithi, an election officer at the Muttrah constituency's pooling station at the Ruwi Girls School, told Gulf News.
He also pointed out that there were more women queuing up to vote compared to men.
"If you take rough estimate so far three women must have cast vote for every one man," he said.
Raheela Al Riyami, a resident, expressed happiness at the trend but added, "That doesn't mean women will vote for women candidates."
First time voter Mariam Khalfan Hassan, 24, was excited about voting as she stood at the end of a long queue.
"I am voting for the first time and I am excited, I think every citizen should vote and participate in the Shura process," she advised.
Another first time voter, Zahra Al Lawati, came to the polling station with her mother.
"I wasn't aware of elections the last time but this time our community carried out meetings to make people aware of importance of Shura therefore me and my mother decided to vote," Al Lawati said.
Al Lawati said she would vote for the only candidate from her tribe who is in fray.
In the first open elections in 2003, only two women were elected to the council. Forty-five per cent of the country's population is made up of women.
